Carl Icahn letter to Apple: 'Stock trading at half price'

Activist investor argues stock is 'dramatically undervalued'

Activist investor Carl Icahn has issued an open letter to Apple's chief executive Tim Cook, asking the Cupertino giant for a bigger share buyback "soon".

In the letter, the billionaire investor described Apple as "dramatically undervalued" and called on Cook to "convince" the board of directors to purchase "more" and "sooner".

Icahn argued the stock is trading at a 50 per cent discount and should be trading at $203 per share, instead of the $100 region it is currently trading for. He also revealed he owns 53 million shares in Apple.

"We believe Apple is dramatically undervalued in today's market, and the more shares repurchased now, the more each remaining shareholder will benefit," Icahn said in a letter to Apple's board.

The stock jumped one per cent in New York trading to $101.80 after Icahn published the letter on his website on Thursday morning.

This is not the first time the so-called corporate raider asks Apple to increase and accelerate its share buyback programme.

Last year, he called for a huge $150 billion share buyback, but eventually gave up after it became clear major shareholders in Apple would vote against his proposal. The company is currently sitting on a $133 billion cash pile.